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Next time you reach for AI to help you with an everyday task, maybe hold off.

That’s from Dr. Miriam Aczel at the United Nations University. She says she is pro-AI, but not every problem needs to be solved with it.

Aczel says ChatGPT is the fastest adopted technology in history, receiving an estimated 2.5 billion daily prompts. However, answering those prompts requires a significant amount of energy, often generated by water.

She has several tips for those who recognize the benefits of AI, but don’t want to put the environment at risk. These include using a regular calculator instead of asking AI to make calculations, as well as using a cookbook rather than asking AI for recipes. You can also lessen your footprint by being specific with your prompts.

“If you have a question, the more specific you are with a prompt, the more you give your large language model guidance on the type of answer you’re looking for, the less back and forth there is, and that’s where it starts to add up.”

She also suggests that people who are subscribed to paid AI platforms should be told how much electricity was used to generate their prompts on their bill each month.

On the flip side, developers could also be more mindful by building in lower-electricity usage default modes, she explains, as simple questions shouldn’t require the most advanced version of an AI platform.